Buy a regular
(non-enhanced), 12-14
pound turkey. Don't use a self-basting turkey for this recipe.

Brine for 24 hours,
then air-dry overnight in the refrigerator.

Smoke at 325-350°F
until 160-165°F in the breast, 170-175°F in the thigh, approximately
2-1/2 to 3 hours.

Let rest for 20 minutes before carving. Alternatively, wrap
tightly in several layers of foil, place breast-side down in an empty cooler, and hold for 90-120 minutes before carving.

Collect the pan
drippings for making gravy.

Apple-brined turkey on WSM, October 2005

Apple-brined turkey, Thanksgiving Day 2001

This
is the most popular turkey brining recipes among
members of The Virtual Weber Bulletin
Board. Here's how I brined and cooked a whole turkey using this recipe on October 22-23, 2005. I
hope you enjoy it!

Choose a regular turkey for this recipe, not a self-basting bird that's been
injected with a solution of salt and other flavorings. Read the fine
print on the label—you do not want a turkey that says, "Contains up to X% of a solution
to enhance juiciness and tenderness..." See
Turkey Selection & Preparation for more details.

Choose a 12-14 pound turkey
and thaw according to the
package directions. Remove and discard any leg
restraint, then remove the giblets from the
neck cavity and the neck from the body cavity. Trim away large areas of fat
or excess skin around the body cavity, rinse thoroughly inside and out, and pat dry with paper
towels.

Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Heat on stovetop just enough so that sugar and salt melt into the apple juice. Remove from
heat and let mixture come to room temperature. To speed cooling, place the saucepan in a sink filled with ice water.

In a large non-reactive container, combine the cooled apple juice mixture with the
remaining ingredients. When adding the oranges, squeeze each piece to release the juice into the container, then drop in
the peel.

Put the turkey in the brine
breast side down (Photo 4). Place a heavy plate or bowl on top to keep the
bird submerged, if necessary (Photo 5).

Brine the turkey for 24 hours.
You may wish to stir the solution 2-3 times during the brining process. I'm not
sure if this is necessary or if it actually does anything, but I like to do it
anyway.

Since brining does not preserve
meat, the turkey and the brine solution must be kept below 40°F throughout the entire brining process.

Air-Dry The Turkey

Photo 6

Photo 7

After brining, rinse the
turkey thoroughly inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.

Place on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet pan and allow to air-dry overnight (8-12 hours) in the refrigerator. This helps
promote crispy skin during cooking.

Photo 6 shows the
turkey air-drying in the refrigerator. Photo 7 shows how it looked after
12 hours in the fridge.

Fire The WSM

Fire-up the cooker using
the Standard Method—one full Weber chimney
starter of hot Kingsford Charcoal Briquets in the charcoal bowl, followed by
another full chimney of unlit Kingsford, allowing all coals to become
fully lit before cooking.

Foil The Water Pan

Cover the inside and
outside of the water pan with wide, heavy duty aluminum foil.
Place the pan inside the cooker, but leave it empty.

No Rub Required

Remove the turkey from
the refrigerator at the same time you start firing-up the cooker. Let it
sit at room temperature until ready to go into the cooker.

For better presentation,
tie the ends of the
drumsticks together using kitchen twine so they don't splay out into a
funny shape during cooking. There's no need for any elaborate trussing.
Also, fold the wing tips under the turkey.

Apply a very thin coat of vegetable oil
or melted, unsalted butter to the turkey skin.

There is no barbecue
seasoning or rub applied to the turkey as part of this recipe.

Smoke The Turkey

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photo
10

When all the coals are
covered with gray ash, place 2-3 medium-sized chunks of dry cherry wood or
other mild smoke wood on the coals. I used 1 chunk of cherry and 1 chunk
of apple (Photo 8).

Assemble the cooker and
place the turkey breast-side up on the top grate (Photo 9). Set the three bottom
vents to 50% open. Open the top vent fully and leave it that way
throughout the entire cook.

Adjust the bottom vents as necessary throughout the cooking process to maintain a temperature of 325-350°F measured at
the lid.

Cook the turkey until it measures 160-165°F in the breast,
170-175°F in the thigh, using an instant-read thermometer. Cooking time is approximately 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

There's no need to baste or rotate the turkey during the cooking process.

Photo 10 shows how the
turkey looked after one hour of cooking.

Here's how the cooker
temperatures and vent settings went during my cook:

Time

Lid
Temp

Meat
Temp

Vent
1
%

Vent
2
%

Vent
3
%

8:00am

-

46

50

50

50

8:30am

412

82

50

50

50

8:45am

360

-

50

50

50

9:00am

350

116

50

50

50

9:30am

334

138

100

100

50

10:00am

342

156

100

100

100

10:11am

352

163

100

100

100

Rest Then Carve The
Turkey

Photo 11

Photo
12

Photo
13

Remove the turkey from
the cooker and let rest for 20 minutes before
carving (Photo 11). Do not cover with foil, as this will cause the skin
to go soft.

Alternatively, wrap the
turkey tightly in several layers of wide, heavy duty aluminum foil, place
breast-side down in an empty cooler, and hold for 90-120 minutes before
carving (Photo 12).

After the rest, carve the turkey to your liking.
See the Turkey Selection & Preparation article for
carving tips.

I like to remove the
breast as a single piece and then cut into slices across the grain
using an electric carving knife (Photo 13).

Collecting Pan
Drippings For Gravy

Photo 14

Photo
15

There are three common ways to collect pan drippings when smoking a
turkey:

Cook the
turkey in a shallow, disposable foil pan.

Cook the
turkey on the top cooking grate. Place an empty foil pan on the bottom
grate to catch the drippings.

Cook the
turkey on the top cooking grate. Line the water pan with wide, heavy duty aluminum foil, but suspend the foil 1-1/2" above
the bottom of the pan so it does not touch (Photo 14). This prevents the drippings from burning.

Assuming
you don't over-smoke the turkey, the
drippings will be perfect for making gravy—in fact, they're already
seasoned by any rub applied to the turkey.

As you remove the turkey from the cooker, pour
any accumulated juices
inside the body cavity into the pan. You can also use the juices
left in the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet pan after letting the turkey rest before
carving.

You'll typically
end up with about 1-1/2 cups of drippings (Photo 15).

If you don't
have any drippings, make the delicious
turkey
giblet gravy described on The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board using the
giblets, aromatic vegetables, chicken stock, white wine, and seasonings.

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